South Korea’s shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries is in talks to build up to a dozen very large crude carriers (VLCCs), the value of which could reach USD 1 billion, Yonhap News Agency cited industry sources.
Namely, the company is reportedly negotiating the orders with two undisclosed shipping firms based in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively.
If the parties agree on the shipbuilding deals, the order would count up to 12 VLCCs, including options.
So far this year, the shipuilder secured contracts for four VLCCs.
Two of these were ordered by crude oil tanker company DHT Holdings in January. Featuring 319,000 dwt, the new VLCCs are expected to join the company’s fleet in July and September 2018.
The other two 300,000-ton VLCCs were ordered en bloc by Greek shipowner Enesel in early February. Scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2018, the vessels were ordered at a price of USD 83 million a piece, according to VesselsValue data.
During 2016, the shipbuilder returned to black as it reported a net profit of KRW 682.3 billion for the full year, compared to a loss of KRW 1.36 trillion seen in 2015.
The company’s operating profit also marked a turnaround as it stood at KRW 1.64 trillion, against an operating loss of KRW 1.54 trillion, while HHI’s revenue dropped by 15 percent to KRW 39.3 trillion from KRW 46.2 trillion in the respective periods.
World Maritime News Staff